Denied access to "All Users" by mistake for C: drive

J

JMCSD

New Member
Hello everyone.

A tiny bit of background story here. My sister is visiting and she has a habit of toying around with and messing my mothers laptop up. Now for what we thought we should do: We created my sister her own account, and I was under the impression that my mums login was an "Administrator". Now I made the mistake of deny access for "all users" to the C:\ thinking that her login would still have access. So now, I've tried booting in safe mode, opening the cmd prompt as the administrator, type net user administrator /active:yes. I logged in as the new Administrator login, but still cannot make any changes to the permissions on her C:\. I can't change the owner either. I cannot create another user even. I'm lost and we can't even do a system restore. Getting which apparently has to do with permissions (gee, what a surprise). Please help!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

Re: Administrator Account

Hello JMCSD, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Can you do a System Restore at boot using Method Two in this tutorial?

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
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    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
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    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
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    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
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    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
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    Thermaltake Core P3
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    Corsair Hydro H115i
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    Logitech wireless K800
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    Logitech MX Master 3
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
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    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
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    16 GB DDR4-2133
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    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
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    Conexant ISST Audio
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    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hello Brink,

Unfortunately I never created a system restore point or a backup cd of any kind. On top of that I can't open system restore, not in Safe Mode either. :(

Gah!... please don't give up on me. Believe it or not I actually work on computers all day for a communications company.... it's just i work with XP and i definitely don't specialize in windows so just bounce ideas off of me and I'll do whatever i can to make them work. I'll start taking screen shots if that would help. I bassicaly locked my C:\ to "All Users" and now *BANG*................. i can't do anything to get back into it. Even using the built in administrator account. So if i don't have a restore point... am i screwed completely or are there other suggestions???
 

My Computer

System One

Re: Administrator Account

JMCSD,

It looks like your only option is to format and reinstall Vista. :(

Sorry,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Re: Administrator Account

............................................ :cry::cry::cry::cry:.......................................................... okay......... is there ANYTHING ANYTHING ANYTHING I can do to back up some of the files my mother had on her c drive, whether or not it costs money? Man I'm so mad I made the simple mistake of assuming the "administrator" account also counts as a "user". Assumptions only make an (butt) out of yourself. I appreciate everyone and anyones help.
 

My Computer

System One

Re: Administrator Account

JMCSD,

If you have a retail Vista installation disc, then you may be able to do a Repair (upgrade) install to not lose anything. The previous installation of Vista may be placed in the C:\Windows.old folder after the repair install so you can copy what you needed back.

If not, then I suppose that you could take it to a computer shop in your area and have them pcopy the files off the hard drive for you. I'm not sure how much that would cost though.

Hope this helps some,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Re: Administrator Account

Have you tried booting in safe mode and trying to fix the security perms from there?

Also, if its locked to all users have you tried using the SYSTEM account to gain access? Its not a normal thing to do however the SYSTEM has more access than every admin including the builtin one so it stands to reason it should be able to do something.

There is another thing I do not understand, how can you login and run explorer etc with no C:? That would lock you out of the windows folder? :huh:

Can you upload a screenshot of your C: security config please :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett Packard
    CPU
    3.40Ghz / 2.20Gz Duo Core
    Memory
    2GB / 3GB
    Hard Drives
    160 GB / 160 GB
Re: Administrator Account

Hi Guys,

I will be sure to upload a screenshot later today. I am actually at work right now and don't have access to that machine. A quick question though... how do I enable that SYSTEM account? Is it similar to enabling the built in administrator? or are there other steps?
 

My Computer

System One

Re: Administrator Account

The built-in Administrator account is the same thing as the System account. It's just another name for it. ;)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Re: Administrator Account

Ah I see. Yep. Tried activating the Administrator account and then started in safe mode yet I still can't change the C:\ permission levels :(.
 

My Computer

System One

May try change permissions by using command prompt:

to take ownership use command takeown, if you display takeown /? you show command describe how it use

command icacls is for changing permissions;icacls /? desplay describe
 

My Computer

System One

indeed the above method seems to have most chances..

Try booting in either safe mode or with Vista DVD( boot from vista install dvd, select "Repair Computer" , select your Windows Installation and open command prompt).

In command prompt, switch to your installation path e.g. c:\

and type:

takeown /F your_damaged_folder /A /R

Example:

takeown /F c:\Users /A /R

This will give the administrators group ownership to the folder.

Let us know if it worked
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Limneos
    CPU
    Intel Core2Duo E4500 2.2GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P5LD2-X/1333
    Memory
    2GB 800Mhz Kingston DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 8500GT
@limneos
Try booting in either safe mode or with Vista DVD( boot from vista install dvd, select "Repair Computer" , select your Windows Installation and open command prompt).
Click to expand...
Command takeown, don't work under Vista DVD,althoug icacls work -strange..

EDIT
No,unfortunatly changing permissions under Vista DVD,liveCD or likely will be unuseful for him.Of course you can change permissions under Vista DVD but it only read,changing from Vista DVD level not installed system.When he boot system again he'll have the same permissions as before booting Vista DVD.I've tested on my virtual PC -He must change permissions only on allive system
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

Flavius, thanks for noticing...

In Windows 7 boot DVD, takeown works in command prompt. That's where I last saw it ,so I assumed it would work in Vista too.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Limneos
    CPU
    Intel Core2Duo E4500 2.2GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P5LD2-X/1333
    Memory
    2GB 800Mhz Kingston DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 8500GT
Re: Administrator Account

Brink said:
The built-in Administrator account is the same thing as the System account. It's just another name for it. ;)
Click to expand...

I mean executing the command as the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett Packard
    CPU
    3.40Ghz / 2.20Gz Duo Core
    Memory
    2GB / 3GB
    Hard Drives
    160 GB / 160 GB
Oh, ok Fmjc001. Thank you for clarifying that. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I'm not a Linux geek by any means but can you boot up with an Ubuntu live cd or flash drive? You should be able to see all of the directories on C:/ and at least retrieve any important data prior to reformatting and re-installing system software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    HP Pavilion dv6604nr
The point of this exercise is to *not* have to format and start over. Hence them trying what they are now.

Using a *nix bootable CD ***that supports NTFS read at bare minimum*** will be required to do this as a drastic last measure.
 

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System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro X64 Insider Preview (Skip Ahead) latest build
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    The Beast Model V (homebrew)
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    Intel Core i7 965 EE @ 3.6 GHz
    Motherboard
    eVGA X58 Classified 3 (141-GT-E770-A1)
    Memory
    3 * Mushkin 998981 Redline Enhanced triple channel DDR3 4 GB CL7 DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3-12800)
    Graphics Card(s)
    eVGA GeForce GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-3979-KB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 * Lenovo LT2323pwA Widescreeen
    Screen Resolution
    2 * 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SanDisk Ultra SDSSDHII-960G-G25 960 GB SATA III SSD (System)
    Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SATA III SSD (User Tree)
    2 * Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA II Mech. HD
    Seagate ST1500DL001-9VT15L Barracuda 7200.12 1.5 TB S
    PSU
    Thermaltake Black Widow TX TR2 850W 80+ Bronze Semi-Mod ATX
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (Black)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 (CPU, dual 140 mm fans on radiator) + Air (2 *
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (gen 2)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared)
    Internet Speed
    AT&T Lightspeed Gigabit duplex
  • Operating System
    Sabayon Linux (current, weekly updates, 5.1.x kernel)
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad E545
    CPU
    AMD A6-5350M APU
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon HD (Embedded)
    Sound Card
    Conextant 20671 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo 15" Matte
    Screen Resolution
    1680 * 1050
    Hard Drives
    INTEL Cherryvill 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SSD
    PSU
    Lenovo
    Case
    Lenovo
    Cooling
    Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master (shared) | Synaptics TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Lenovo
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex
johngalt said:
The point of this exercise is to *not* have to format and start over. Hence them trying what they are now.

Using a *nix bootable CD ***that supports NTFS read at bare minimum*** will be required to do this as a drastic last measure.
Click to expand...


If you read one of his/her earlier posts it sounded like a desperate plea to me asking for any way to save some of the data on the hard drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    HP Pavilion dv6604nr
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